Whenever Mike Clark of Colfax wants to bring out the best in his flippin’, punchin’ or Carolina-riggin’ game, he reaches for a fishing rod rigged with a specific soft plastic beaver-style lure.
Clark counts on the Creme Lure Badd Bug to take a bass off its bed in the spring or lure it out of its comfort zone inside a tangle of bushes, branches and/or grass mats at other times of the year. It isn’t new but it has been a staple in his and others’ arsenals since it was introduced several years ago.
“Once people realize the small details we put into it, especially for punching and flipping, they’ll appreciate that,” the 61-year-old retired firefighter said.
“We talked about getting a beaver of some sort,” he said. “We decided on that one.”
Clark, who has been with the Creme Lure Co. since February 1993, knows all about the details because he designed the soft plastic after he and others, including Creme Lure owner Chris Kent, agreed it was time for the accomplished artificial lure company to make its own beaver-style soft plastic. Plus, he believed there were improvements he could make to one-up, two-up and even three-up the ones on the market.
Adjustments to get it right
The Texas artificial lure manufacturing company — born in the 1940s in Akron, Ohio, then moved to the heart of bass fishing country in Tyler, Texas — secured the help of a mold maker out west to get the ball rolling on what became the Badd Bug. The mold was modified step by step.
“We were just trying to make a better beaver. I didn’t like a lot of beavers on the market so we bulked up the head of the bait to make it more durable on a large hook. We also eliminated one of the grooves on the body to thicken the body just a little,” he said, explaining some beavers pierced with straight shank hooks have a problem with the hook punching through the body as they are worked in heavy cover.
The Creme Lure Co. designer also addressed the “feet” on the pinchers, which he called paddle-like kickers at the end.
“They kick when they’re moving in the water, always moving, going up or down,” he said.
The finished product was all the company hoped it would be and more. There are countless others besides Clark who catch on the Badd Bug, which is very reasonably priced, including Toledo Bend fishing guides Dusty Anders and Brett Preuett.
“That bait is a fairly versatile bait as well, you can flip with that thing, punch it … I’ve caught a lot of fish on a Carolina rig with it at Toledo Bend,” Clark said. “I also put it on a jig for a trailer. It’s a bulky trailer. It’s versatile. You can do a lot with it.”
Great colors
Clark’s favorite colors are Tattoo You, smoke/gold flakes laminated over watermelon/gold flakes, which he said bass love at Toledo Bend, and Muddy Tramp, blue with blue flake over green pumpkin/purple flake.
“Both of those are really good colors. People like them. Of course, we have a lot of good colors,” he said.
Fishing Badd Bugs Texas-rigged style, Clark flips it under a ½- to 1-ounce weight while using a Gamakatsu 4/0 or 5/0 EWG or heavy cover flipping hook tied to 65-pound test Tuff-Line Braid, which he still has many spools. On his C-rig setup, he uses 50-pound test braided line tied to a lighter wire Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG and 15-pound monofilament leader under a 1-ounce lead weight.
For more information on the Creme Lure Badd Bug and other Creme Lure Co. products, go to cremelure.com or call (903) 561-0522.
